Nike Cross Regional Midwest: By The Numbers

 

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Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16, LaVern Gibson Championship Course, Indiana

Boys Championship - 2:55 p.m.

Girls Championship - 3:30 p.m.

 

Course records

Boys: Hunter Jones, 14:21.8 (2022)

Girls: Rachel Forsyth, 16:31.1 (2023)

 

States in the Midwest Region:  5

Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri     

Top two teams and five individuals not on qualifying teams automatically advance to NXN. Four at-large team berths will be named later. 

 

BOYS

States represented at NTN/NXN:  

Illinois 35 times

Indiana 8 times  

Ohio 5 times

Missouri 2 times - Missouri was moved to the Nike Midwest in 2007 

Michigan has never qualified a team for Nike, in part because state association rules discourage participation.

 

States with the longest streak, current and all time:  

Illinois, 19 years.  Illinois has sent a team to Portland every year since the inception of NTN in 2004.      

 

At-large bids:  9

2007 Medina OH

2009 Loyola IL

2010 Neuqua Valley IL

2011 Palatine IL

2012 St. Xavier OH

2013 Hinsdale Central IL 

2015 Lyons IL

2016 Mahomet-Seymour IL

2019 St. Charles East IL

2022 Downers Grove (North) IL

The Midwest received 3 bids in 2004 and 2006 at NTN.     

 

Current nationally ranked teams: (as of 11/13/25): 6

No. 10 Columbus North IN

No. 15 Northville MI

No. 18 Plainfield North IL

No. 25 Noblesville IN

No. 26 Downers Grove North IL

No. 29 Ann Arbor Pioneer MI

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 24

 

Teams with the most NTN/NXN appearances:

Elmhurst (York) IL 10 times

Neuqua Valley IL 5 times

Downers Grove North IL 5 times 

Carmel IN 4 times

Columbus North IN 2 times

Sandburg IL 2 times

St. Xavier OH 2 times  

Wheaton Warrenville South IL 2 times

Hinsdale Central IL 2 times

Rockhurst MO Plainfield North IL, Plainfield South IL, Hersey IL, Naperville North IL, Columbus North IN, LaSalle OH, Warren IN, Mahomet-Seymour IL, Lyons IL, Palatine IL, Loyola IL, Medina OH, Woodridge OH and St. Charles East IL have qualified once.

*Madison West WI received a selection in 2004.  Wisconsin has since been moved to the Heartland.     

 

Longest team streak appearances: 

9 Elmhurst (York) IL 2004-12

Longest team current streak appearances:

3 Downers Grove (North) IL

 

Highest finish at nationals:

Elmhurst (York) IL 1st 2004

Neuqua Valley IL 1st 2007

 

DyeStat preseason picks to qualify for NXN:

Plainfield (North) IL

Downers Grove (North) IL 

 

Current Prediction:

Columbus North IN 

Northville MI

*Plainfield (North) IL

 

Outlook: Columbus North IN seemed to take command as the top team in the region at Nike XC Town Twilight, where it showed its depth and talent up front with Jace Works and Denton Sluder leading the way.  It's the quality of the team's fourth and fifth guys that should push the Indiana champions into an NXN qualifying spot on Sunday. Northville is aiming to become the first boys team from Michigan to make it to NXN and had a very strong state meet, where it was led by Brandon Cloud. Northville's ability to make the top two hinges on keeping its fifth man close to the rest of its pack. Another Michigan team looking to breakthrough is Ann Arbor Pioneer, with Kamari Ronfeldt leading the way. Illinois has qualified a boys team every year since the national meet's inception in 2004, but this year it's certainly not a given. Plainfield North won its first Illinois Class 3A title last Saturday and is one of several good teams coming over the border looking to crash the top two. Liberty North MO would love nothing better than to represent Missouri for the second straight year at NXN after Rockhurst's suprising finish last year. Woodbridge, the Division 3 champion from Ohio, is a darkhorse as well. Individually, Noah Bontrager of Westview IN took a close loss at the Indiana state meet to Calvin Seitz, but look for him to rebound at regionals. look to state champions such as Ronfeldt in Michigan, Philip Cupial of Downers Grove (North) and Gordy Libby of Lake Zurich in Illinois, Brice Fuller and Landon Kimmel of Ohio, and Carson Driemeier, Wyatt Klaiber and Jack McGovern from Missouri. 

 

GIRLS

States represented at NTN/NXN:

Illinois 26 times

Indiana 12 times

Ohio 5 times

Michigan 2 times

Missouri has never qualified a team for Nike

 

State with the longest streak, current and all-time:

Illinois, 15 years. 2008-19, 2022-24

 

At-large bids: 7

2010 Wheaton Warrenville South IL

2012 New Trier IL

2014 Palatine IL

2015 Naperville North IL

2015 Carmel IN

2016 Minooka IL

2023 Elmhurst (York) IL

2024 Carmel IN

 

Current number of nationally ranked teams: (as of 11/13/25): 5

No. 6 Ann Arbor Pioneer MI

No. 8 Carmel IN

No. 13 Romeo MI

No. 20 Barrington IL

No. 30 Mt. Prospect (Prospect) IL

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 19

Teams with the most NTN/NXN appearances:

Naperville North IL 9 times

Carmel IN 8 times

Westfield IN 3 times

Palatine IL 3 times

Magnificat OH 2 times

New Trier IL 2 times

Yorkville IL 2 times

Mt. Prospect IL 2 times

Elmhurst (York) IL 2 times

Downers Grove (North) IL 2 times

Romeo MI, Bowling Green OH, Hinsdale Central IL, Lake Central IN, Geneva IL, Wheaton Warrenville South IL, Centerville OH, Northville MI, Minooka IL, Beavercreek OH,  have qualified once.

 

Longest team streak:

8 Naperville North IL 2012-19

Longest team current streak:

2 - Downers Grove (North) 

 

Highest finish at nationals:

Naperville North IL 2nd 2017 and 2018

 

DyeStat preseason picks to qualify for NXN:

Carmel IN

Ann Arbor Pioneer MI

 

Current Prediction:

Ann Arbor Pioneer MI

Carmel IN

* Romeo MI

 

Outlook: Carmel brings back its top four from a team that was 15th at NXN last year and so the Indiana champions began the season as Midwest No. 1 and carried that through most of the season. Ann Arbor Pioneer, however, has inched ahead with firepower up front from Natasza Dudek, the little sister of former Foot Locker champion Zofia Dudek, and Sienna Klemmer. Pioneer beat Romeo, last year's runner-up by one point at NXR Midwest, by seven points at the Michigan state meet. If Anna Hrabovsky and Co. can stay that close to Pioneer and Carmel on Sunday, then the region could very well pick off one of the at-large selections. Compact groups from Barrington, Mt. Prospect and York from Illinois could certainly get into the mix for a top-two spot thanks to their depth. Any of those three might put five across the line ahead of Pioneer's fifth. Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran of Indiana could get into the picture as well. especially if Mallory Weller has recovered from the calf injury that kept her out of the state meet. Weller was fourth in this race last year. The course record is under threat because Dudek smashed Rachel Forsyth's Michigan Speedway record at her state meet. That means Forsyth's La Vern Gibson record should be within Dudek's grasp. Emma Hoffman from Michigan should be right up in the front along with Sunny Weber of Illinois, Nike XC Town champion Isabella Keller, Indiana champion Libby Dowty and Ohio champion Sophia Szolosi.